"ROWAN!" She sighed and put down her quill. "Coming Mom!" She clattered down the stairs, hair swinging. "What is it Mom?" Her mother looked up. "Oh there you are. Roe-chan. Sweetie, Galliane came with a note for you." She went into the living room and took the note from the eagle owl and scratched his head. She sat down and opened it. It was a note from Ron, that much she could tell. But she couldn't read it at all. Blowing out a breath, she folded it back up and trotted back upstairs. "Chet! I need that deciphering spell again..." "In here, Roe-chan what's it for?" She walked into his room and tripped over the rug. Fortunately, she didn't fall. "Oh, my friend sent me a note, only I can't read the writing." Chester snorted. "Typical. All right, I won't look, just unfold it and I'll pour it on." She nodded and unfolded it. He uncorked a vial and dumped the contents across the page. Then he tipped it up and used the fold to pour the remainder back into the vial. He waved it through the air a bit to dry it and handed it back. "There ya go, goat-girl. Now shoo." She poked his shoulder and left. When she got into her room, she flopped onto the bed and looked at the note. Ron was asking if she would meet him, Fred, and George at Hogsmeade for the day. Rowan raised an eyebrow. She hoped her mother would let her go.
She tromped back downstairs and into the kitchen, hooves clicking on the linoleum tiles. "Mom? Some of my friends asked me to spend the day at Hogsmeade with them." Her mother looked up from the dishes. "Which friends, dear?" Rowan sighed quietly. "The Weasleys." Her mother went back to washing. "Well all right. As long as you're home by dark. Take Erabore, all right?" She could barely hide her elation. "Sure, Mom. I'll see you later, okay?" He mother nodded. She raced back up to her room, stumbled over her own rug and changed clothes. She knew Ron and the twins didn't care about her goat feet, which meant she could wear a skirt today. Then she went out back and called for Erabore. "Whoooo oooo ooooooo ooooooooo!" She heard a whinny and Erabore flew up, gold sparkles trailing from her cream-colored wings. "Come on Errie, we're going to Hogsmeade." The yellow pegasus mare tossed her head and whickered, leaping into the air.
It didn't take long to get to the outskirts of the village. As she got down, she swatted Erabore on the flank and sent her home, with strict instructions to pick her up at sundown. Then she walked into Hogsmeade, wondering where the heck she was supposed to meet them. She hoped she hadn't read the note wrong. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. "EEEEEEEEE!" she shrieked. She was turned around and it was Fred. Behind him were George and a giggling Ron. "You walked right past us twice," Fred said with a grin. "We kept waiting for you to see us," George added. Ron just kept giggling. "Well okay I'm here now. What're we going to do?" Fred looked off towards the village center. "Well... how about we start at Honeydukes? You've never been to Hogsmeade, have you Roe?" She shook her head. "What's Honeydukes?" Ron stopped giggling. "Only the best candy shop ever!" Rowan grinned. "Oooooooooo my favorite! I LOVE candy!" Ron snorted. "Most people do." Rowan shook her head. "Not like me! Come on! Lets go!" They all run toward Honeydukes, Rowan chasing the others. Fred fell behind a bit. "Hey, I wanted to tell you something, Roe." She slowed down a bit. "Ummm, okay." Fred stopped running completely. "Well you see, I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think Ron likes you." Rowan looked at him sideways, trotting backward. Not the best idea since she was a klutz, but she wasn't paying attention. "Well of COURSE he does. I mean, we ARE friends you know." Fred shook his head at her. "Not like that silly goat-girl. I mean like like. You know like, wants to go out with you?" She blushed and fell over backward. "But, but..." Fred stopped. "Well like I said, I don't know for sure." He helped her back to her feet, trying to ignore the fact that she was wearing little white boy shorts with pink flowers under her skirt. He wanted to giggle. Rowan looked up at him. "Well, okay. My mom would freak out anyways." She looked sad. "Mom thinks I'm too young to have a boyfriend. Even though I proved I'm responsible taking care of Erabore." Fred sighed. "Yeah, I know the feeling. Mum jumped on me when she found out Trin's only 13. She realized after meeting her though, that age isn't an issue. But you know Trin too, so you know what I mean. Maybe you should take Ron to visit." Rowan kicked at a rock and nearly fell over again. "I could, but she'd think things the minute he came by himself. Maybe if you and George came too?" Fred looked thoughtful. "I'm sure that would work. I'll let George know and then we can send an owl to Trin and Aire so they don't worry too much." Rowan smiled. "Thanks! Oh look! We're here!"
Rowan was practically overwhelmed by all the candy, so she let the others pick some out for her. She bought 3 galleons worth and then they went back outside. Ron walked with her as they headed to The Three Broomsticks. "My favorite are chocolate frogs," she told him, eating one. Ron grinned. "I like them all.... Fizzing Whizbeez are fun, they make you levitate. But you have to be somewhere you wont get hurt when it wears off! One time... I got stuck in the chimney at home!" Rowan giggled. "You didn't!" Ron snorted. "Oh I did! And Fred and George wouldn't get me down... they just laughed and laughed until Mum came." Rowan pretended to be shocked. "That sounds SO like them too. Hey Ron, can I ask you something?" Ron ate a handful of chocolate frogs. "Sure. What's up?" Fred and George were way ahead of them. "Ron.... do you like me?" He missed a step. "Sure. We're friends, right? Of course I like you." Rowan stopped walking. "That's not quite what I meant. I mean... do you like me... that way." Ron stopped walking completely as well. He didn't turn around right away. "Well..." he coughed a little. His ears turned bright red. "I um....." He turned around. She hadn't expected him to look at her. "Yeah.... yeah I do." She bit down on her knuckles. She was both happy and extremely sad. "Oh..... oh thats good..... and bad...." Ron looked confused. "What d'you mean?" She sniffed a little. "Well.... I mean... I like you that way too, but my mom doesn't think I'm old enough to have a boyfriend, or even go on a date. So even though I really want to, I can't go out with you." Her bright green eyes filled with tears and spilled over. "Hey," Ron said, patting her shoulder. "At least I know you want to." He smiled a little. She tried to smile back. "Oh.... I'm inviting you and the twins to dinner so that Mom can meet you and see that its not too crazy. I mean, she didn't mind me here. So hopefully..." They caught up to the twins. George looked at her. "Hey, you okay? You look like you were crying." Rowan sniffed a little. "I was. But I'm okay now."
They went into The Three Broomsticks and sat in a booth. Ron sat across from her. "So....how about we send an owl to your mum after this about dinner. I mean, Fred said it's 4 already."Rowan nodded. George ordered butterbeer. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. You know....... this is sad. I've never had butterbeer!" She laughed, but inside her gut twisted and her heart ached. She knew her mother would say no anyways. Her mother was strict about dating. Probably not till she was 13 at least. And that was.... she counted a moment. Eight months. Her stomach twisted into a knot. It wasn't fair. Its not like they were going to do anything bad. She just wanted to be able to do what the others could do. Was that so much to ask? She noticed the butterbeer in front of her. She took a sip. It relaxed her stomach a bit. Rowan sighed. George poked her. "You okay? Ron told us what's up." Ron's ears were beet red. She smiled a little. "I mean I'm happy... but I know my mom. I'm afraid that at the very least, she will probably say I have to wait till I'm 13 in February. I just hope she doesn't tell me I have to wait till I'm 16. I'll die." George and Fred looked serious, rare for them. "You are not allowed to die," Fred said. "Ditto," said George. Ron looked into his mug. "If your mom made you do that... I'd wait. It'd be all right."
She whimpered and covered her now very red face. "Oh, Ron... that's really nice. But you shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Her heart felt completely torn up. She knew it would be easy for Ron to fall for someone else. Someone normal. Especially if he had to wait three and a half years. Tears started down her cheeks again. Life wasn't fair. She felt the seat move and then she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?" It was Ron. She gulped back the tears. Or tried anyway. "Ron, maybe you better jsut forget about me and find someone else. I'm too much trouble. I'm not even normal!" The tears just kept falling behind her hands. Ron squeezed her shoulder. "Aw, normal is overrated. And you aren't too much trouble." She sniffled and looked up. "Are you sure?"
Ron looked down at Rowan's tearstained face and felt his heart lurch. He couldn't stand to see her cry. He gave her a half smile. "Hey... of course I'm sure. Now stop crying okay? I hate to see you cry." She sniffled and wiped away the tears, grinning. "You're a nice guy, Ron." His ears went red again. "Hey, I try." George and Fred grinned from the other side of the table. "Look who decided to join us again!" Rowan giggled and sniffed again. She drank the rest her butterbeer and let out a small burp. She blushed and covered her mouth. "Oops!" The others laughed. "We better get that owl," George said. He went and asked Madame Rosemerta if they could borrow an owl. She brought one from the back and George carried him to the table. Rowan scratched out a note and told the owl where to take it. "Okay," Fred said. "Let's show her Zonko's." Rowan follwed them outside. "Zonko's? What's that?" Ron poked her in the ribs. "Its a joke shop. They've got all sorts of gags and things. It's where we got our animal sound jelly beans. Remember I told you about them?" She giggled. "Yeah, I remember." She wrapped her arms around herself. It was too tempting to grab his hand. When they got to the shop, Ron held the door open for her. She realized as she walked in, she hadn't fallen since Fred had told her Ron liked her. She stared in amazement at everything in the store. As she wandered around, Ron and the twins picked out some things to get. They had a feeling she wouldn't get anything, so they just let her wander. When they were finished, the twins caught her elbows and ushered her, giggling, outside. They headed back to The Three Broomsticks to see what Rowan's mother had said. Rowan found the owl. She took the parchment and unrolled it. "She said yes! But she says we better come back as soon as we get the owl, because she's already fixing it. I better go call Erabore." She went out, and they followed. "Erabore?" Ron said confused. "You'll see," Rowan said. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Whoooo oooo ooooooo ooooooooo!"
They heard a whinny, and suddenly Erabore was flying toward them. "Oh yeah!" Ron said sheepishly. "I remember now." The yellow pegasus mare landed lightly. She nuzzled Rowan. "Errie, I need you to carry all of us. Can you do that?" The mare bobbed her head as though nodding. "Good girl. I'll give you extra carrots when we get home." She got on, and the others climbed after. "Okay, hold on tight!" The mare whickered and danced a little before launching herself into the air. Her great cream colored wings spread wide and she soared upward before leveling off. Ron and Fred were behind her wings, and so they noticed the gold sparkles. "Hey," Fred called. "What's with the sparkly stuff? Lazerous' wings dont do that. "I think it has something to do with the fact that she's a female, " she called back. "I'll have to ask Dad. Oh good, we're here!" Erabore dove and landed perfectly on the front lawn. "Accio carrots!" Rowan fed Erabore the carrots and sent her to the back yard.
"Okay, so this is my house. Let's go in. Dinner's probably ready." She clomped up the steps to the porch and opened the screen. "I'm home!" Her mother called out from the kitchen. "Hello Roe-chan! Dinner's almost ready. Just bring your friends in and have a seat. Your father will be home soon." Chester bounded down stairs. "Hey, the Weasleys! Fred, George, and Ron! I'm Roe-chan's big brother Chester. Call me Chet if you like." He plunked down on the couch and started talking to them. Rowan leaned on her hand, her elbow on the couch arm. She waited a bit worriedly for her dad to get home. She knew he wouldn't mind the company, but she had a feeling he'd side with her mother too on the subject of Ron. Then she heard his footsteps on the walkway and the screen opened. "Well isn't this a surprise. Ron and the Weasley twins. Nice of you to join us for dinner." Her dad shifted his briefcase to his left hand and shook hands with them. Rowan's mother came out of the kitchen. "Food's ready!" She announced cheerfully. There was a general mad dash in that direction. Rowan and her mother laughed as the men scrambled for the dinner table.
"I hope everyone likes Chinese and Japanese food. I went traditional tonight." The sounds from the table as Rowan and her mother sat down indicated much enjoyment. Rowan helped herself to some rice. She normally ate the chicken and beef as well, but she wasn't in the mood tonight. So her mom wouldn't be suspicious, she gave herself a large portion of rice. She used the chopsticks rather than the fork. Ron was next to her and was struggling with them. She reached over and placed the chopsticks correctly in his hand and guided him to picking up some food. He grinned at her and his ears turned a bit red. Fred and George just used the forks. They all ate in silence for a while. "It was nice of you to bring your friends, Roe-chan," her father said, sipping some cold sake. He hated it hot. "Well, they were nice enough to show me around Hogsmeade, so I thought it was only fair." He nodded. Ron spoke up then. "So how come Rowan's nickname is Mei Lin?" Her father wiped his mouth with his napkin before he answered. "Well... you see, in the chinese zodiac, the Goat God is Mei Lin. And when Roe-chan was born, well we thought it was a rather fitting nickname. If only we knew why she's the way she is." He took another bite of the meat. Fred stopped eating long enough to ask his own question. "About Erabore sir, my girlfriend owns a yellow pegasus stallion and his wings don't trail gold sparkles like hers." Her father almost choked. "Roe-chan, do you know his girlfriend?" She nodded. "Yes. Her name is Trinity Starcatcher." Her father looked almost awestruck. "So they own the only other yellow pegasus. And a stallion too. Very interesting."
While her mother was clearing the table, Rowan got up the courage to ask. "Mom, about me dating..." Her mother put the dishes in the sink. "Rowan, we've been over this." She clutched the edge of the table. "I know Mom. But you never told me when I could." Her mother sighed. "Dear, I know you'll probably resent me for this, but I am thinking about your best interests. You will be allowed to go on dates when you're 16." Rowan nearly wilted under the table. "But..." A spoon clattered into the sink. "I'm sorry Rowan, but that's final." She turned hopelessly to her father. " He shook his head. "Your mother's right, sweetie." She tore away from the table and slammed through the screen. Her mother ran after her as far as the porch. "Rowen!"She just kept running, around to the back and out into the forest beyond their property. There was no fence anyway. She tripped and fell hard. Tears streamed down her face as she curled into a ball on the ground.
Fred, George and Ron ran after her. Rowan's mother didn't try to stop them. Not that she could have. A 14 year old boy and two 16 year old boys... no, she didn't even try. Ron didn't have to call for her. He saw her small white furred legs drawn up against her chest. He ran to her. Rowan clung to her furry knees and sobbed. Ron crouched next to her. Her green eyes were shut tight and tears slipped from them as she whimpered. His heart breaking, he touched her shoulder. He looked back at his brothers. Fred and George looked sadly down at them. They didn't have to speak, Ron knew they sympathized. There were no mocking words now. Her small tail was limp and hung in the dirt, the same dirt that stained her legs. Her weeping was heart-rending.
She tromped back downstairs and into the kitchen, hooves clicking on the linoleum tiles. "Mom? Some of my friends asked me to spend the day at Hogsmeade with them." Her mother looked up from the dishes. "Which friends, dear?" Rowan sighed quietly. "The Weasleys." Her mother went back to washing. "Well all right. As long as you're home by dark. Take Erabore, all right?" She could barely hide her elation. "Sure, Mom. I'll see you later, okay?" He mother nodded. She raced back up to her room, stumbled over her own rug and changed clothes. She knew Ron and the twins didn't care about her goat feet, which meant she could wear a skirt today. Then she went out back and called for Erabore. "Whoooo oooo ooooooo ooooooooo!" She heard a whinny and Erabore flew up, gold sparkles trailing from her cream-colored wings. "Come on Errie, we're going to Hogsmeade." The yellow pegasus mare tossed her head and whickered, leaping into the air.
It didn't take long to get to the outskirts of the village. As she got down, she swatted Erabore on the flank and sent her home, with strict instructions to pick her up at sundown. Then she walked into Hogsmeade, wondering where the heck she was supposed to meet them. She hoped she hadn't read the note wrong. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. "EEEEEEEEE!" she shrieked. She was turned around and it was Fred. Behind him were George and a giggling Ron. "You walked right past us twice," Fred said with a grin. "We kept waiting for you to see us," George added. Ron just kept giggling. "Well okay I'm here now. What're we going to do?" Fred looked off towards the village center. "Well... how about we start at Honeydukes? You've never been to Hogsmeade, have you Roe?" She shook her head. "What's Honeydukes?" Ron stopped giggling. "Only the best candy shop ever!" Rowan grinned. "Oooooooooo my favorite! I LOVE candy!" Ron snorted. "Most people do." Rowan shook her head. "Not like me! Come on! Lets go!" They all run toward Honeydukes, Rowan chasing the others. Fred fell behind a bit. "Hey, I wanted to tell you something, Roe." She slowed down a bit. "Ummm, okay." Fred stopped running completely. "Well you see, I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think Ron likes you." Rowan looked at him sideways, trotting backward. Not the best idea since she was a klutz, but she wasn't paying attention. "Well of COURSE he does. I mean, we ARE friends you know." Fred shook his head at her. "Not like that silly goat-girl. I mean like like. You know like, wants to go out with you?" She blushed and fell over backward. "But, but..." Fred stopped. "Well like I said, I don't know for sure." He helped her back to her feet, trying to ignore the fact that she was wearing little white boy shorts with pink flowers under her skirt. He wanted to giggle. Rowan looked up at him. "Well, okay. My mom would freak out anyways." She looked sad. "Mom thinks I'm too young to have a boyfriend. Even though I proved I'm responsible taking care of Erabore." Fred sighed. "Yeah, I know the feeling. Mum jumped on me when she found out Trin's only 13. She realized after meeting her though, that age isn't an issue. But you know Trin too, so you know what I mean. Maybe you should take Ron to visit." Rowan kicked at a rock and nearly fell over again. "I could, but she'd think things the minute he came by himself. Maybe if you and George came too?" Fred looked thoughtful. "I'm sure that would work. I'll let George know and then we can send an owl to Trin and Aire so they don't worry too much." Rowan smiled. "Thanks! Oh look! We're here!"
Rowan was practically overwhelmed by all the candy, so she let the others pick some out for her. She bought 3 galleons worth and then they went back outside. Ron walked with her as they headed to The Three Broomsticks. "My favorite are chocolate frogs," she told him, eating one. Ron grinned. "I like them all.... Fizzing Whizbeez are fun, they make you levitate. But you have to be somewhere you wont get hurt when it wears off! One time... I got stuck in the chimney at home!" Rowan giggled. "You didn't!" Ron snorted. "Oh I did! And Fred and George wouldn't get me down... they just laughed and laughed until Mum came." Rowan pretended to be shocked. "That sounds SO like them too. Hey Ron, can I ask you something?" Ron ate a handful of chocolate frogs. "Sure. What's up?" Fred and George were way ahead of them. "Ron.... do you like me?" He missed a step. "Sure. We're friends, right? Of course I like you." Rowan stopped walking. "That's not quite what I meant. I mean... do you like me... that way." Ron stopped walking completely as well. He didn't turn around right away. "Well..." he coughed a little. His ears turned bright red. "I um....." He turned around. She hadn't expected him to look at her. "Yeah.... yeah I do." She bit down on her knuckles. She was both happy and extremely sad. "Oh..... oh thats good..... and bad...." Ron looked confused. "What d'you mean?" She sniffed a little. "Well.... I mean... I like you that way too, but my mom doesn't think I'm old enough to have a boyfriend, or even go on a date. So even though I really want to, I can't go out with you." Her bright green eyes filled with tears and spilled over. "Hey," Ron said, patting her shoulder. "At least I know you want to." He smiled a little. She tried to smile back. "Oh.... I'm inviting you and the twins to dinner so that Mom can meet you and see that its not too crazy. I mean, she didn't mind me here. So hopefully..." They caught up to the twins. George looked at her. "Hey, you okay? You look like you were crying." Rowan sniffed a little. "I was. But I'm okay now."
They went into The Three Broomsticks and sat in a booth. Ron sat across from her. "So....how about we send an owl to your mum after this about dinner. I mean, Fred said it's 4 already."Rowan nodded. George ordered butterbeer. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. You know....... this is sad. I've never had butterbeer!" She laughed, but inside her gut twisted and her heart ached. She knew her mother would say no anyways. Her mother was strict about dating. Probably not till she was 13 at least. And that was.... she counted a moment. Eight months. Her stomach twisted into a knot. It wasn't fair. Its not like they were going to do anything bad. She just wanted to be able to do what the others could do. Was that so much to ask? She noticed the butterbeer in front of her. She took a sip. It relaxed her stomach a bit. Rowan sighed. George poked her. "You okay? Ron told us what's up." Ron's ears were beet red. She smiled a little. "I mean I'm happy... but I know my mom. I'm afraid that at the very least, she will probably say I have to wait till I'm 13 in February. I just hope she doesn't tell me I have to wait till I'm 16. I'll die." George and Fred looked serious, rare for them. "You are not allowed to die," Fred said. "Ditto," said George. Ron looked into his mug. "If your mom made you do that... I'd wait. It'd be all right."
She whimpered and covered her now very red face. "Oh, Ron... that's really nice. But you shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Her heart felt completely torn up. She knew it would be easy for Ron to fall for someone else. Someone normal. Especially if he had to wait three and a half years. Tears started down her cheeks again. Life wasn't fair. She felt the seat move and then she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?" It was Ron. She gulped back the tears. Or tried anyway. "Ron, maybe you better jsut forget about me and find someone else. I'm too much trouble. I'm not even normal!" The tears just kept falling behind her hands. Ron squeezed her shoulder. "Aw, normal is overrated. And you aren't too much trouble." She sniffled and looked up. "Are you sure?"
Ron looked down at Rowan's tearstained face and felt his heart lurch. He couldn't stand to see her cry. He gave her a half smile. "Hey... of course I'm sure. Now stop crying okay? I hate to see you cry." She sniffled and wiped away the tears, grinning. "You're a nice guy, Ron." His ears went red again. "Hey, I try." George and Fred grinned from the other side of the table. "Look who decided to join us again!" Rowan giggled and sniffed again. She drank the rest her butterbeer and let out a small burp. She blushed and covered her mouth. "Oops!" The others laughed. "We better get that owl," George said. He went and asked Madame Rosemerta if they could borrow an owl. She brought one from the back and George carried him to the table. Rowan scratched out a note and told the owl where to take it. "Okay," Fred said. "Let's show her Zonko's." Rowan follwed them outside. "Zonko's? What's that?" Ron poked her in the ribs. "Its a joke shop. They've got all sorts of gags and things. It's where we got our animal sound jelly beans. Remember I told you about them?" She giggled. "Yeah, I remember." She wrapped her arms around herself. It was too tempting to grab his hand. When they got to the shop, Ron held the door open for her. She realized as she walked in, she hadn't fallen since Fred had told her Ron liked her. She stared in amazement at everything in the store. As she wandered around, Ron and the twins picked out some things to get. They had a feeling she wouldn't get anything, so they just let her wander. When they were finished, the twins caught her elbows and ushered her, giggling, outside. They headed back to The Three Broomsticks to see what Rowan's mother had said. Rowan found the owl. She took the parchment and unrolled it. "She said yes! But she says we better come back as soon as we get the owl, because she's already fixing it. I better go call Erabore." She went out, and they followed. "Erabore?" Ron said confused. "You'll see," Rowan said. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Whoooo oooo ooooooo ooooooooo!"
They heard a whinny, and suddenly Erabore was flying toward them. "Oh yeah!" Ron said sheepishly. "I remember now." The yellow pegasus mare landed lightly. She nuzzled Rowan. "Errie, I need you to carry all of us. Can you do that?" The mare bobbed her head as though nodding. "Good girl. I'll give you extra carrots when we get home." She got on, and the others climbed after. "Okay, hold on tight!" The mare whickered and danced a little before launching herself into the air. Her great cream colored wings spread wide and she soared upward before leveling off. Ron and Fred were behind her wings, and so they noticed the gold sparkles. "Hey," Fred called. "What's with the sparkly stuff? Lazerous' wings dont do that. "I think it has something to do with the fact that she's a female, " she called back. "I'll have to ask Dad. Oh good, we're here!" Erabore dove and landed perfectly on the front lawn. "Accio carrots!" Rowan fed Erabore the carrots and sent her to the back yard.
"Okay, so this is my house. Let's go in. Dinner's probably ready." She clomped up the steps to the porch and opened the screen. "I'm home!" Her mother called out from the kitchen. "Hello Roe-chan! Dinner's almost ready. Just bring your friends in and have a seat. Your father will be home soon." Chester bounded down stairs. "Hey, the Weasleys! Fred, George, and Ron! I'm Roe-chan's big brother Chester. Call me Chet if you like." He plunked down on the couch and started talking to them. Rowan leaned on her hand, her elbow on the couch arm. She waited a bit worriedly for her dad to get home. She knew he wouldn't mind the company, but she had a feeling he'd side with her mother too on the subject of Ron. Then she heard his footsteps on the walkway and the screen opened. "Well isn't this a surprise. Ron and the Weasley twins. Nice of you to join us for dinner." Her dad shifted his briefcase to his left hand and shook hands with them. Rowan's mother came out of the kitchen. "Food's ready!" She announced cheerfully. There was a general mad dash in that direction. Rowan and her mother laughed as the men scrambled for the dinner table.
"I hope everyone likes Chinese and Japanese food. I went traditional tonight." The sounds from the table as Rowan and her mother sat down indicated much enjoyment. Rowan helped herself to some rice. She normally ate the chicken and beef as well, but she wasn't in the mood tonight. So her mom wouldn't be suspicious, she gave herself a large portion of rice. She used the chopsticks rather than the fork. Ron was next to her and was struggling with them. She reached over and placed the chopsticks correctly in his hand and guided him to picking up some food. He grinned at her and his ears turned a bit red. Fred and George just used the forks. They all ate in silence for a while. "It was nice of you to bring your friends, Roe-chan," her father said, sipping some cold sake. He hated it hot. "Well, they were nice enough to show me around Hogsmeade, so I thought it was only fair." He nodded. Ron spoke up then. "So how come Rowan's nickname is Mei Lin?" Her father wiped his mouth with his napkin before he answered. "Well... you see, in the chinese zodiac, the Goat God is Mei Lin. And when Roe-chan was born, well we thought it was a rather fitting nickname. If only we knew why she's the way she is." He took another bite of the meat. Fred stopped eating long enough to ask his own question. "About Erabore sir, my girlfriend owns a yellow pegasus stallion and his wings don't trail gold sparkles like hers." Her father almost choked. "Roe-chan, do you know his girlfriend?" She nodded. "Yes. Her name is Trinity Starcatcher." Her father looked almost awestruck. "So they own the only other yellow pegasus. And a stallion too. Very interesting."
While her mother was clearing the table, Rowan got up the courage to ask. "Mom, about me dating..." Her mother put the dishes in the sink. "Rowan, we've been over this." She clutched the edge of the table. "I know Mom. But you never told me when I could." Her mother sighed. "Dear, I know you'll probably resent me for this, but I am thinking about your best interests. You will be allowed to go on dates when you're 16." Rowan nearly wilted under the table. "But..." A spoon clattered into the sink. "I'm sorry Rowan, but that's final." She turned hopelessly to her father. " He shook his head. "Your mother's right, sweetie." She tore away from the table and slammed through the screen. Her mother ran after her as far as the porch. "Rowen!"She just kept running, around to the back and out into the forest beyond their property. There was no fence anyway. She tripped and fell hard. Tears streamed down her face as she curled into a ball on the ground.
Fred, George and Ron ran after her. Rowan's mother didn't try to stop them. Not that she could have. A 14 year old boy and two 16 year old boys... no, she didn't even try. Ron didn't have to call for her. He saw her small white furred legs drawn up against her chest. He ran to her. Rowan clung to her furry knees and sobbed. Ron crouched next to her. Her green eyes were shut tight and tears slipped from them as she whimpered. His heart breaking, he touched her shoulder. He looked back at his brothers. Fred and George looked sadly down at them. They didn't have to speak, Ron knew they sympathized. There were no mocking words now. Her small tail was limp and hung in the dirt, the same dirt that stained her legs. Her weeping was heart-rending.